The Two-Faced Girl
by Illusion of Dawn
Summary: As Angela has to move to her brother she is afraid that nobody in Harmonica High School will like her. But this is actually just a small problem compaired to the fact that once she arrives, the whole school believes that she is a guy called Angelo. A story about a not so feminine heroine, awkward situations and- well why don't you take a look yourself?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 Excuse me sir, I am a girl!**

It was a dazzling day. The sun was shining bright and not even a single cloud filled the brilliant sky. The cherry trees were about to bloom and the sweet fragrance of spring contrasted the ice cold winter that had once covered the land with pure snow. Angela loved spring for all these reasons and many more. But this year she had wished that spring would never come.

"Smile, darling. It is not as bad as you make it look. You should be happy. Meeting new people and getting new friends, isn't it wonderful?"

"Yes, Mum", muttered Angela and looked outside the window of their car. "Really wonderful."

Since last year's summer Angela was aware of the fact that she would spend a year at her brother's farm. And Angela was old enough to understand that her parents couldn't just let her alone at home while they would spend a whole year at an archaeological excavation somewhere in the south. Angela couldn't even remember the name of the town her parents mentioned though they discussed this topic nearly a hundred times.

"I called Kasey yesterday and he told me that he eagerly waits for you, my dear." Her mother's voice rang in her ears but she didn't listen.

"Yes, Mum."

"And look at all the letters and flowers you class mates gave to you! You will find just as many new friends in Harmonica Town."

Angela looked to the letters on the seat next to her. She had read them all twice since they started driving to her brother.

She sighed- quietly enough so that her parents wouldn't notice it- and looked again outside the window. There was a small pier in front of them and Angela's heart began to beat faster. Now things got serious.

Angela's father stopped in front of the pier and took around three minutes to convince his daughter to get outside that car. However, Angela just stood there with a bunch of letters in her arms and watched her parents taking the luggage to the ship. She kept a great distance to the ship while her father talked to the captain. And old man with silver hair and big pipe which he meticulously cleaned.

"Aren't you happy to see Kasey again?"

Her mother's sadden sight fell upon her and Angela quickly looked away for she didn't want to feel ashamed. After all it wasn't her fault that she felt so bad for leaving her home. It wasn't her fault at all that she wanted to go back to her normal life.

"I am happy", sighed Angela and only pushed those letters in her arms closer to her chest.

"Good. Now listen: we told the captain to bring you over to Castanet Island. You'll arrive there in no time. Don't forget your luggage, got it? Your brother is going to wait for you at the pier in Harmonica Town."

Angela nodded.

"And one last thing, Angela: Don't get into trouble!" Her eyes narrowed.

"Me? Trouble? Oh please!" Angela laughed but as she saw her mother's serious face she stopped and looked to the ground. "Yeah, got it."

"Good. And now let me hug you!" She instantly pulled Angela to her chest. "Call me at once when you're at Kasey's farm!"

"Mum, I can't breathe!", panted Angela for air.

After all the hugging and the tears AND the warnings from her parents Angela stood at the reeling and watched them getting smaller and smaller. As there was nothing left but one little point she turned around and faced her destiny. Castanet Island got bigger and bigger and also Angela's fears increased. She quickly put those letters in her arms in her pocket and looked down to the ocean.

"Are there any sharks here, captain?"

"Sharks? Oh no, young lady!", he laughed and nearly choked on his pipe. "You won't find any shark around here."

She grinned.

"But I wouldn't recommend to go swimming during this season. The water temperature is pretty low. You'd probably catch a cold, miss."

Damn. So she couldn't jump from the boat in order to escape. Well at least she didn't try it without asking before. Might have turned out quite bad…

"Miss, we are about to arrive." The captain looked at his pipe and held it into the sunlight. "You should prepare yourself."

Angela mumbled something but the captain was too busy staring at his pipe. "Really, a charming pipe that is!"

Her sight fell upon the town in the distance. A big mountain nearly swallowed up everything she could see. For some moments she stood there in awe as some sea gulls surpassed her and flew right into the sky where they seemed to melt into some big clouds.

"Harmonica Town." She swallowed.

She took her luggage, bowed to Pascal and took her first step on Harmonica Town. She looked around. A big light house to her left and a small wooden pier led to a small fisher's shop. She looked to the right and saw her brother passing a bar.

_His hair surely grew a lot after the last time I saw him. He looks somewhat girlish._

She couldn't help but to smile.

"Yo!", her brother waved to her and a big grin appeared on his face. "Long time no see. You changed quite a lot, Angy."

"The same goes for you, Kas. Your hair is touching your shoulders! Mum would go wild if she saw that."

"Well that's one of the positive aspects when you live alone", he laughed. "But it's such a waste. Your pretty hair! The last time I saw you it reached to your hips. And your taste in clothes has changed too, hm? You look like a boy!"

Angela looked down on her. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a black pullover which truly hid most of her feminine aspects.

"Well, I like this better", she said and smiled. "It was so bothersome. So I decided to cut my hair."

"Well at least your personality didn't change a bit", he smiled satisfied. "Now let me take your things. It is quite a long walk to my house. You're okay with that?"

"Sure. Meanwhile tell me about your job!"

He picked up her cases and looked at her proudly.

"Well, I don't wanna brag but my farm is pretty famous here in town. I established myself quite a nice living. The people here are all nice and very interesting. So don't worry, Angy. I already signed the contracts for you."

"Which contracts?"

"For school, geez. Don't tell me you forgot about that."

"No…" _I just WANTED to forget it though…_

"Don't worry. I'm pretty sure you'll get used to this town. At first it's been difficult for me, too. I mean I had no idea on how to run a farm! I nearly messed up everything before I could really get started!"

_But this actually doesn't have anything to do with my problem, right?_

Kasey smiled at her and Angy couldn't resist but to join him. Maybe everything wouldn't turn out that bad, right?

The alarm clock nervously rang. It must have felt the same pain Angela dealt with. She didn't have to open her eyes. She was wide awake- actually she didn't sleep all night. She only stared at the ceiling, turned to left and right and stared again at the ceiling.

"Angy, rise and shine!", Kas jumped into her room. "Today's going to be your first day of school! Hurry!"

Angela sat up in her bed- her eyes like a laser beam directly pointed to her brother.

"**No need to remind me**!", she hissed in a scary deep voice. Then she took her pillow and threw it right into his face.

"Woah!", Kas jumped to the side and the pillow flew through the open door. "I forgot that you're not a morning-type. Anyway, I need to go to Horn Ranch. I left you're school uniform on the table. They send it to me a while ago but I didn't open it. I also made you some lunch. I'll see you tonight then!"

He closed the door behind him and Angela yawned. She stretched herself and slowly got up. The sun was shining so bright it almost hurt her eyes.

She went into the bathroom, cleaned her face, brushed her teeth- well, just stuff you always do when you get up. Then she walked into the kitchen and saw a package lying on the table.

"Uniform, huh? At my school there wasn't such a thing…" She quickly opened it and looked at a dark blue jacket, a black tie, a white shirt and a pair of fawn trouser.

_Seems to be unisex… well at least they overcame those stereotypical ideas…_

She quickly changed into her new uniform, took her briefcase- a present from her father- and went outside the house. Her lunch, however, still waited on the table.

Yesterday Kasey had explained her how to get to school. At first she was quite shocked that her school was in the Mine District but Kasey reassured her that the sight was beautiful. Well at least something…

And what a sight it was! After she crossed a wooden bridge and passed the carpenter's shop a small path led right to a huge campus hidden in the forest. As she stood in the courtyard, Angela couldn't believe her eyes. How could something so huge be hidden by just a few trees? Moreover Harmonica Town didn't have so many students…

"Hey, you!" A voice rang in her ears and reminded her that she actually must have looked pretty dumb how she stared at the school. Angela turned around and faced someone about her age. He was definitely taller than her and his strawberry blonde hair fell into his scary purple eyes.

"Euh, yeah?"

"Move already! If you're standing here to look at the school than would you be so kind to do that somewhere else?", he snapped, put his hands into the pockets of his trousers and passed her without making any further notice of her.

"Excuse me?`", she gasped and gave him an evil stare. _What a jerk!_

But as the bell rang she stopped thinking about this and ran into the school. Being late on the first day wasn't that good to start this semester!

Gladly she made it in time and found herself in front of class 1-A before the teacher could open the door.

"I'm sorry for being late!" She bowed politely. "I didn't find the class at first."

"Oh that's no problem. Let us go inside so that we can introduce you to your classmates."

"…Yay..", she smiled ironically. _I just waited for this…_

And without losing any more words the teacher dragged her into the class room. She slowly turned her face to the classroom and was stunned.

"Morning, class. Starting today you have a new classmate. Let me introduce to you Angelo!"

_**ANGELO?!**_

She saw a bunch of guys wearing the same uniform as hers and unfortunately she saw a bunch of girls wearing skirts. She quickly looked down on her and then to the girls. Trousers – skirts. Trousers- skirts. Angela – girls. No… **Angelo**- girls.

_**WHAT THE HECK?! **_

"Please take the seat over there." The teacher gently pushed her into the middle of the class. Like a robot she made her way to the empty seat in the back row.

_Angelo… Did he just call me, Angelo?... _

_They mistook me for a guy!_

She sat down and dropped her head on the table.

_And I missed the chance to say something against it! (T^T)_

"Hey! Hey, man!" Angela lifted her head and looked to a guy with blue hair and a bandana on his head. His golden eyes passionately looked upon her.

"I'm Luke! Let's be buddies!"

"Huh? Yeah…" _It's not like I have other problems right now…_

"Dude, are you alright? You look pale to me… Is something wrong?"

"Well, I am-"

"Luke, for the last time: take off that bandana when you're in class!"

"But it doesn't do anything!", he gasped. "Well, except for being awesome."

The class laughed.

_I'm screwed!_

Angela hit her head on the table.

_And I just befriended an idiot! (o)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 The Door To Paradise**

_Horrible lesson... horrible school…_

Angela stretched her arms after the teacher left the class room.

Not even a second had passed and she was surrounded by a bunch of girls.

"You're name is Angelo, right?", asked a girl with short brown hair and a sweet smile on her face.

"You must be Kasey's brother! He told us about having a sister but he never mentioned a brother!"

"Well, that's because-"

"You are from the city, right? Oh I wish I could go there someday!", squealed a smaller girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Your hairstyle certainly is different! It looks so stylish! I bet you use a professional product that can only be bought in the city!"

"Oh, well-"

"Enough, girls!" Luke quickly pushed the group a little bit back.

"Angelo will answer all your questions later. Now I have to show him around the campus."

"But we can do that too!", squealed the group of girls.

Angela watched the scene with great interest. She had never been so popular among girls before!

"Nah, leave that to me. He certainly needs some buddy-time!"

_Buddy, huh? Who made you to my buddy? Oh yeah right… that was me (-_-')_

"So back off!", he literally took the group of girls and placed them at the other end of the class room.

He then took Angela's arm and pulled her right after him.

"H-Hey, wait! I can walk myself!"

* * *

"This is the cafeteria! And over there is the library! Oh and over there is the pool and-"

"Why is there such a big campus for such a small town?", Angela asked.

Luke stared at her for a while.

"…"

"…"

"Well there aren't many people in our class", he smiled satisfied.

_That didn't answer my question…_

"You know Angelo", he laid his arm around Angela's shoulders.

"I am glad that you are now my buddy. There aren't many guys in our class as you might have already noticed."

_Well actually I didn't notice anything at all after they called me a guy…_

"That's why I'm twice as happy to have such a great friend like you!", he smiled widely. Though Angela didn't want to she had to smile, too.

"Oh man, that made me kinda embarrassed", he laughed and his cheeks turned a bit pinkish.

"But you know I'm also glad that the girls like you. They were a bit worried that you were just another girl. To be honest, I think everyone would have hated you if you were a girl!" He laughed again.

"Hehe… yeah…" _I am so dead! (T^T)_

"But well, that isn't the case!" He crossed his arms behind his head and watched into the sky.

"What if- and that's just a theory- what if I were a girl? I mean it can't be that bad, can it?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, it can. The last girl that came into our class disappeared after a few weeks."

"DISAPPEARED?!", she shrieked. "Euh… I mean, she disappeared?"

She tried to sound as manly as possible.

"Yeah, something like that. I heard some rumors about mobbing and threatening. Well, those are just rumors!"

_Yeah rumors that might spread in a mafia gang!_

"Hey, let's go to the cafeteria! I'm starving!"

"Yeah, sure", she nodded and sighed. Now she really had to think of a good plan.

They walked along a corridor that was connected to the courtyard. The courtyard however was basically just a big green field divided by a big paved path that directly lead to the main entrance of the campus. Some cherry trees filled the wide green grass and drew shadows on the ground.

"I hope they will bloom soon", said Luke as he noticed Angela looking at the big trees.

"I think it makes this place even more awesome!"

Angela giggled and Luke stared at her confused but caught himself and opened one blue door at the end of the corridor.

"Here we are! This is our cafeteria!" he swung the door wide open.

The cafeteria was a big round hall with large windows which filled the hall with bright light. The walls were colored orange and the tables and chairs were painted white. Each chair and each table- how she then noticed- was unique.

"My dad and me created this room", he proudly said. "Most of the furniture in this school was ordered by us and I could tell you a story for every chair!"

"Still bragging about the furniture, Luke?" A man with a black ponytail and glasses approached the two of them. As he looked at Angela his eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me, I guess we haven't met each other before", he put forth his hand. "My name is Jin. Nice to meet you."

"I am Angelo", she directly replied and was quite surprised that she actually said that.

"Angelo, huh? You must be the new student for 1-A."

"Yeah, he sits right next to me", grinned Luke.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your first day here, Angelo." He grinned, turned around and walked off.

The way he pronounced her name made Angela quite sick. Did he notice that she was a girl? But shouldn't she actually be glad that somebody revealed this mistake? Something felt quite odd.

"Hey, let's have some lunch! I've waited the whole day to be able to introduce you to my friends!" He pulled at Angela's arm once again and dragged her over to one round table in the middle of the cafeteria.

"Yo guys, let me introduce you to Angelo!", shouted Luke and placed Angela in front of his body as if she was his new buckler.

Angela looked at the group sitting around the table. There was a girl with long blonde hair tamed into a ponytail. She had dark green eyes and a somewhat sassy grin on her face.

Next to her was the- probably- biggest guy she had ever seen! His muscled were gigantic! His spiky red hair kind of supported this image. But he smiled friendly and suddenly Angela felt a little bit more relaxed.

Next to him sat a girl with mint green hair and red glasses. She didn't face her but strictly looked down on her sandwich. Angela wasn't quite sure whether she didn't like her or wasn't interested in her at all.

Then Angela's sight fell upon a- euh…

"That's Julius, he IS a guy", whispered Luke to her. "Can you believe that?"

"Luke I STILL hear you", hissed the guy next to Phoebe.

His long violet hair was streaked in yellow, green and- what was that? Pink? Actually Angela didn't mind that. Back in the city she had seen many guys having different hair colors but what irritated her the most was the fact that he wore make-up. His lips were as red as a ripe apple and his blood red eyes were accentuated by green eyeliner.

_And I was shocked that nobody saw me as a girl? Compared to him I am the most manly person in the world!_

"I don't understand why people can't accept my beauty", he flipped his hair.

"Anyway, it is nice to meet you!", smiled the girl with the ponytail. "The name's Kathy. I'm in 1-B. Actually like everyone except for Phoebe."

"Oh yeah", Luke clapped his hands. "Angelo, this is Phoebe. You might have already seen her. She is our class representative. If you have any question, ask her, right Phoebe?"

"Whatever", mumbled she and took a bite of her sandwich.

"Somebody's not I a good mood there", whispered Luke to Angela.

"Luke I can ALSO hear you. If you whisper do it in a QUIET way."

"Woah, sorry", he scratched his neck.

"I must admit that I am glad that 1-A has another guy. Especially such a cute one", Kathy winked at her.

"Kathy!", snapped the guy next to her.

"Just kidding, Owen", laughed she. "But I don't know what it is… you are somewhat like a girl."

"Hey, don't insult my buddy!" Luke tried to protect her.

_But she was right! (T^T)_

"I'm sorry. After the story of the last girl you can be glad to be a guy", she smiled at me.

Arrow in the heart. _So that was no joke at all! They killed her!_

"Hey, man, what's your next lesson?", asked Owen and pointed to two free chairs.

Luke and Angela said down while Luke was trying hard to remember his schedule.

"I think it was P.E. or…"

_Please let it be something else! Please let it be something else!_

"Euh… nope. It was P.E."

Second arrow in the heart.

"Angelo, you look quite pale. Don't you like sports?", asked Kathy worried.

"Me… euh… actually I do like it…"

"GREAT!" Luke punched his fist in the air. "Then you'll be in my team! Don't worry, after our lunch I will show you the way to the changing room."

Thunder Shock. _I am going to dieeeee!_

* * *

**Meanwhile**.

Angela's lunch alone on the table in Kasey's house: _Nobody's going to eat me?..._ (Q_Q)

* * *

"Come on in. What are you doing outside?" Luke raised his eyebrow and looked at Angela.

She was still standing in front of the changing room not able to move her body. There were certainly some things that crossed the line!

"Is he alright?", asked a guy with silver hair and a sleepy expression on his face.

"Yeah, Toby, I think so. Now come on in!"

"Euh… suddenly I feel kind of sick."

"That's why I told you to have some lunch!", sighed Luke and shook his head. "Come on, I want to get changed already."

_But I don't want you to get changed! (T^T)_

_Okay, this is enough! I certainly have to say something!_

Angela opened her mouth.

"Well, when you aren't feeling that well than I can't force you", Luke sighed. "But I really wished we two could have some fun playing basketball…" His sight fell to the ground and the sparkling in his eyes vanished.

Angela sighed and shut her mouth again.

_Damn you! You and your damn puppy eyes!_

She stepped into the changing room and threw her briefcase on one of the benches. The changing room wasn't that big. Only three benches and a row of locker filled the white room.

"Great! After the lesson I'm gonna show you where the showers are!"

Her body froze.

_Woah, no, that's far enough!_

"Don't chitchat. The lesson's about to start", reminded Toby him and Angela was glad that somebody changed the topic. Or actually ended it.

But now there was one small problem.

_Where should I begin?!_

_Tacking off my trousers? No, no…. not a good idea at all._

_Well I could take off the jacket. Yeah, that's a good idea!_

She took off her jacket.

_And now the tie!_

She pulled her tie over her head.

_Good, now we are in progress! Euh…. Now the shoes!_

She slipped out of her shoes.

"What are you doing there?", asked Luke and she looked at him and directly looked away again.

He was already half naked! He only wore his boxer shorts now.

She concentrated on not to blush of embarrassment.

_Enough!_

"Luke, I-"

Suddenly the door of the changing room opened and Jin came in.

"Man, shut the door!", shouted Luke.

"Besides, what are you doing here? Don't you guys have your own changing room?"

"Angelo, take your things and follow me. The teacher told me to get you."

"Huh?" She looked at him confused. But then she put her shoes on again and went with her things after Jin. They both left the man's changing room and walked through the corridor.

Actually Angela wanted to ask something but the words just didn't come out of her mouth. Did he really know that she was a girl?

He opened one door and put the lights on. It was one empty changing room.

"Here", he said. "You can dress yourself in here, Angela."

Then he walked off again and Angela stared after him shocked.

_So he knows._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 About Merits And Friendship**

She quickly changed into some shorts and a big black T-Shirt- something that she also wore in her free time. She didn't feel strange as she walked out of the changing room- actually she was glad that she didn't have to do sports with a bunch of girls.

"TAKE THAT!", shouted Luke and threw the ball into the basket. "Hey, Angelo! You're pretty late! I already scored us a point!"

"You forgot that we didn't start to count", said Jin and adjusted his glasses. Angela could feel his eyes on her face.

"Well, it seems like we have one player too much. It's three against four", noticed Toby.

"Nah, that's fine. I'm playing for two, man!", laughed Luke and spun the basketball on his finger. "I only need you and Angelo."

"Well if you say so", shrugged Toby. "I don't care."

And then the game started.

Luke was the first to catch the ball. He quickly threw it to Toby but then a guy with tanned skin, a silver braid on the right side of his face and dark green eyes caught it and ran away.

"Uncool!", shouted Luke and ran after him. "Angelo, defense our basket!"

Angela nodded and ran to the other side waiting for the ball to arrive. Suddenly her sight fell upon a guy with a long red braid and furious looking red eyes. He didn't move a muscle. He just stood there at the side and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Angelo, don't dream!" Luke passed the ball to her.

For a moment she just stared at the ball. Suddenly she realized that it was her turn!

"Run, RUN!", screamed Luke and jumped up and down.

Angela ran through the crowd, whirling around whenever somebody tried to steal the ball. She made her way towards the basket and as everyone thought she would try to make a point she quickly passed it to Luke.

"YEAH!", screamed he as he jumped and made a slam dunk. "WOHO!"

"That was great!", gasped Angela. "Let's keep that up!"

"Sure thing", grinned Luke and the game went on.

Angela enjoyed herself so much that she even forgot to realize that everyone called her Angelo. Actually- if she was honest enough to herself- it didn't matter to her anymore. She loved joking around with those guys.

"Time out!", said Jin and Angela and Luke directly sank to the ground. Both of them were breathing hard.

"Man that was awesome!", laughed Luke and nearly choked on his own laughter. "We are really a great team!"

"Yes we are", smiled Angela. "Hey, where is Toby?"

"Huh?" Luke looked around and his grin grew even bigger. "Ah, I think he spies on the girls again. They're doing something like gymnastic."

"Gross!", Angela made a grimace. "Basketball is way more fun!"

_Gladly I'm with the guys. Gymnastic is horrible!_

"Yeah, speaking of it: let's win this game!"

Unfortunately they didn't win the game. The guy with the red hair started to move his body in the end and they had a hard time shaking him off.

Angela went back to her own changing room. She hurried dressing herself and waited outside of the gym. Some guys passed her and walked back to the main building. Some of them noticed Angela but they didn't pay any further attention to her.

Angela sat down on the grass in front of the gym. It was still a nice day and the sun gently touched her skin.

However, as she noticed a black shadow passing her she quickly stood up.

"Hey, Jin! Wait a second!" She ran after the guy with the glasses.

He turned around and noticed her.

"What is it?"

"I… well, I wanted to talk to you. In private", she added. "Is there anywhere we could go?"

He looked on the watch around his wrist and nodded.

"Class isn't starting anyway. I wanted to go to the library if you want to join me."

"Yes, please. This is really important."

And they walked off. Not noticing that Luke had overheard their conversation.

The library seemed to be a small place on the outside. It could be found on the second floor in the main building. A big wooden door divided the library from the rest of the school. But as Angela opened this door she walked into a big and bright hall filled with many bookshelves. The walls mainly existed out of glass and made this place appear to be a wide and open area that somebody could enjoy to stay in. This place reminded Angela more of a greenhouse than a library.

"This place was created to give students the opportunity to study in an open and bright environment which highly supports the motivation. Though there aren't always sunny days it is just as exciting to stay here on rainy days", whispered Jin. "But after all this is a library and we need to respect the other students. Follow me to a more private area."

Jin walked ahead and Angela followed her still being stunned by this wonderful area. She never liked libraries to begin with for they were always so small and dark but this place was the exact opposite of everything that she thought she knew about libraries.

They walked along some bookshelves filled with heavy encyclopedias.

As they reached the glass wall he sat down on one of the small dark green armchairs. Angela sat down right next to him.

He took a book out of his briefcase and began reading while Angela watched him.

"You wanted to talk to me about something", he said not even looking her in the eyes.

"Oh right", remembered she. "I was just wondering how it comes that you know my real name."

"Well it is certain that you are a human of the female sex. I don't know why you are trying to hide this fact but that doesn't even interest me."

"Oh, I see."

_He is somewhat strange… and so reserved._

"Are you going to tell anybody about it?"

"I don't have the right to publish people's secrets. There is firstly no interest in telling anybody and secondly no profit in doing so."

"Then why did you help me back in the changing room? There is no merit in helping me, is there?"

"I don't think that it is justified to expose a lady in public. That is all." He shut his book and adjusted his glasses before he looked in her eyes.

"If you'd excuse me, I have some lessons to attend." He stood up, took his briefcase and disappeared between all the bookshelves. Angela just sat there for a while buried in deep thoughts.

As the bell rang she quickly stood up and left the library. To her surprise a certain blue haired guy stood in the corridor of the second floor and looked at her furiously.

"Where have you been, man!" That was no question but more a reproach. "And what did you discuss with Jin? He's not even in your class!"

Angela stared at him for a while.

"Does that matter?"

"Yes it does!"

"But you are talking to Kathy and Owen, too. Those aren't in our class either…"

"That's something totally different!", he snapped. Suddenly he realized that he went too far.

Angela stared at him with big brown eyes. Luke started to blush but he quickly hid his face before she could notice it.

"Just… just tell me when you're going somewhere. I don't want to look for you everywhere, okay?"

"Sure, no problem", shrugged Angela and passed him. "Come on, the class already started!"

They walked through the corridors.

'_I don't know why you are trying to hide this fact' he said… I don't know either. But I guess it is not that bad to be a guy. Basketball, wearing comfortable clothes and having good friends._

She looked at Luke.

_This isn't bad at all. I think I'm gonna stay as a boy for a while._

They day came to an end and orange clouds announced the coming sunset. Luke and Angela walked down the courtyard.

"I am tired!", yawned Luke and stretched himself. "The beginning of a new semester is always so tiring. Hey, how did you like your first day of school?" He widely smiled at her.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be", admitted she and smiled too. "Actually I really liked it."

"Yeah, me too", he smiled and looked to the right. "Hey, isn't that-?"

Angela turned around, too.

A guy with strawberry blonde hair sat in the crown of a tree. He had a small flute in his hands and played it so gentle as if he caressed it.

It was a soft and harmonic melody that reached Angela's ear. Something inside her began to melt and she closed her eyes. She wanted to absorb this melody, this feeling that rose inside her body. He didn't just play that instrument; he simply made it sing on its own.

"Chase! Hey, Chase!", shouted Luke and jumped towards the tree.

The melody abruptly stopped and Angela was a bit mad at Luke for he was the reason that this wonderful tune ended.

The guy in the tree jumped down and nodded to Luke who directly took his arm and dragged him towards Angela.

"Hey, have you met Angelo yet?"

The guy looked down on her- he was probably two heads taller than her.

"Yep, unfortunately I did", he said emotionless.

"Chase is pretty popular among the girls, you must know!"

"Really?", asked Angela. "I really can't understand why."

The two of them exchanged evil glares.

"I think this is the start of a great friendship!", smiled Luke.

Even though Angela and Chase didn't come along they still had one thought in common:

_Hell, no._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 I know your secret, Angela**

Angela quickly looked from left to right. Her eyes scanned the kitchen.

The lowering sun painted the yellow walls orange and drew deep shadows on the floor. Her eyes fell directly table. Only a vase with daffodils stood on the wooden surface. No letter- nothing at all. It also didn't seem like the kitchen had been used for the last couple of hours. Everything was like she left it. Only her lunch had been thrown away.

"So he was here", she mumbled and checked once again whether anybody stood behind her or was about to jump out of the corner. Then she quickly went inside Kasey's house and locked herself into the bathroom. So far, she made it.

Nervously she put her uniform off and dressed herself into some black shorts and a green shirt. She decided to put the uniform into the laundry basket. However she took some towels and clothes belonging to her brother and tried to cover her uniform well enough so that nobody could see it.

"I'm home!", called Kasey and Angela came out of the bathroom.

"You know, I decided that I'm going to do the laundry starting today. I mean, you have so much to do that I really should help you!" She smiled as sweet as possible.

"Euh… well, I don't mind. Hey, how was your first day?"

"It was better than I expected. I made some new friends, too."

"Well, that's always nice to hear. Wanna go and have some dinner at the bar?"

"The bar?" Angela placed the laundry basket on the floor. "I didn't know you hang out in **bars**. Mum wouldn't be pleased."

"It's not a bar like that!", he defended himself. "The meals there are great. Of course the drinks aren't bad either… anyway, you wanna come too?"

She looked at the laundry. "You know, I'm not hungry at all." A lie. She didn't eat anything the whole day. But she was afraid that Kasey might find her uniform once they got home.

"Oh, well. I can take some food along, if you want to."

"Yeah, that would be nice. Have fun!"

He nodded and left the house again. Angela looked through the windows until he was totally gone. Then she quickly put the clothes in the washer and relaxed in her room.

It wasn't as big as her room back in the city but it was big enough to contain her bed, an armoire, a bookshelf and a desk plus chair. The walls were painted green- her favorite color- and the curtains were white. She lay down on her bed and wrapped the polka dotted blanket around her body. Indeed she looked a lot like a caterpillar now but it was the best way to relax. She looked at the watch next to her bed: 7.18 pm. That was the last thing she saw until her eyes closed.

"Evening, Kasey!", Hayden- a tall man with a brown beard and a shining bald plate- stood behind the bar and cleaned some glasses. "How was work?"

"Exhausting. But I'm getting used to it already." Kasey sat down at a table and looked everywhere. Normally the bar was filled with people laughing and singing but now it was so quiet that an awkward atmosphere seemed to evolve.

"Where's Kathy?"

"She's in her room. Doing homework. I told her that she can take the day off. The first day of school is always tiring. She needs to rest."

"Yeah, I totally understand." Kasey looked to the kitchen and saw the strawberry haired cook chopping some vegetables. "But I guess that doesn't count for everyone."

"I told him to take the day off, too", sighed Hayden and put the clean glasses on a shelf. "But he's too stubborn to listen to me. I bet he didn't even notice me saying something. Today he seems to be extra-angry."

"I know how he feels", yawned Kassey and leaned backward. "When I was still in school I was always angry. School really can piss you off!"

"Anyway, what can I do for you today?"

"Let me see… I'm taking the coconut cocktail and a squid tomato stew, please."

"Sure. Chase, did you hear?"

"Yep", answered the cook annoyed and put a pot on the oven.

"Oh, and before I forget it: could you also make me a shortcake?"

"A shortcake? You seemed to be quite hungry today", laughed Hayden.

"Nah. Not for me. It's for my sister. You know she also had her first day of school today. Maybe you know her, Chase. Her name is Angela."

"Angela?", Chase looked at Kasey for a minute. His purple eyes seemed to be lost in thoughts but then he quickly turned around again. "Never seen her."

"She's in 1-A. So she's your age."

"Oh", said Chase and a smile appeared on his face. "Angela, yeah, that makes sense. Yes, I met her today."

* * *

"I'm back!", yelled Kasey and put the shortcake on the table. Though Chase seemed to be pissed off at first he even wrapped the shortcake and left a note for Angela. He had his nice side, too.

"Hey, Angy, where are you? I brought you some food!"

"I'm here. Just a sec!" Angela quickly put her uniform in the armoire in her room and ran into the kitchen. "Thank you, what is it?"

"A shortcake. You know, Chase works at the Brass Bar. He was really disappointed that you didn't come."

"Chase, huh?" She didn't like him. He was an arrogant egoist in her opinion. She looked at the shortcake. But it was neatly wrapped into pink paper.

"I think he really likes you", winked Kas and went to the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower. Would you mind saving one piece for me?"

"No prob." Once Kasey locked himself into the bathroom she noticed a note next to the shortcake. She quickly unfolded it and read the message inside.

"_I know your secret, Angela._

_Chase"_

Suddenly her eyes nearly popped out as she stared at the note.

_Of course! Kas didn't call me Angelo! He must have introduced me as his sister! Sure, I am his sister but that's not the point!_

Her stomach turned upside down. Suddenly she felt really sick.

Would he tell everybody? Or would he try to blackmail her?

* * *

"Yo, Angelo, are you okay?", Luke poked her with a fork. They were sitting in the cafeteria. "You don't look that well."

He took a bite of his vegetable curry and smiled. "You should try some of this! It makes you smile after only one little bite!"

"No, thank you", she looked down on her curry-bread. "Wanna eat that?"

"Sure!" He grabbed it and gladly ate it with a big grin of his face.

At least somebody was cheerful.

Nervously she looked from left to right checking if somebody looked at her. But they all seemed to talk about something else and she slowly relaxed.

Then she suddenly caught the sight of Chase staring at her. He was sitting at a table on the opposite side of the cafeteria next to some guy with blonde hair.

Their eyes were looked in a stare until the bell broke off the moment.

"Oh man!", moaned Luke and stood up. "Breaks are way too short…"

Chase looked away.

"Yeah", mumbled Angela and looked away, too.

_I can't figure him out… what is he going to do?_

"Hey, Angelo… are you okay?", asked Luke and she turned around.

Suddenly his face was so close that she could directly look into his golden eyes. His nose was nearly touching hers and her heart skipped a beat.

"You look pale", he combined and leaned back again. "Oh, now your face is getting all red!"

"It's not!", shrieked Angela and quickly turned around again. "I-I'm just not feeling well, that's all."

"Huh? You should go to the doctor's room. I can tell the teacher that you don't feel well."

"That's nice but I really don't-"

"Yes, he should go."

A familiar strawberry-headed guy joined the conversation.

"My lessons are over. I can take him to the doctor, Luke."

Angela stared at Chase in disbelief. Was he actually trying to kill her while nobody was around?

"No, you _really_ don't have to do this, Chase", she laughed awkwardly. "I can handle this on my own!"

"No, Angelo, you look so pale right now. I think it's better if he accompanies you", decided Luke.

"But-"

"Angelo, go!" Luke was glaring at her and suddenly she felt herself shrinking in front of him. "You shouldn't mess around when it comes to your health, man!"

"Y-Yeah…", mumbled Angela sheepishly.

"No, come Angelo!", smiled Chase in such a sweet manner that every girl would automatically fall for him. Except for Angela, she just wanted to die right now.

* * *

They walked down the corridors for a while.

It was a bright and charming day. They passed some classrooms, the chemistry laboratory and some storage room for the material used for biology lessons. There were some posters pinned on the wall about topics like saving the environment and a detailed report about the importance of indigo for the modern drapery.

Actually Angela would have taken a look at all those posters but unfortunately she was on her way to the hangman with the purple eyes.

"Here it is", said Chase and pointed at a room with a little sign next to it saying '_Doctor's Room'_.

"Thank you…"

"You know that once you go in there, your little secret will be exposed, right?" She could hear him smirk.

"What's the matter? Despites that, you're going to tell everybody anyway. So there's no need for me to not finish this right away, is there?"

She looked bravely into his eyes and for a moment they stared at each other.

"You're strange", he finally said and looked outside of the window as if he had found something more interesting than her.

"You're not ugly so there's no need for you to walk around as a guy."

"That's not it."

He focused her out of the corners of his eyes.

"What is it then? Shouldn't you put on some make-up and swoon over some handsome guy?"

"I don't behave like a girl at all. I'm not interested in all these things you mentioned. At first I was shocked that everybody thought of me as a guy but that made me realize that it's better for me to stay this way. I'm not really good with girls. I don't know why but they never seemed to appreciate me as a girl."

He looked at her. "That makes you even weirder."

"Well, that can't be helped…"

"Fine, I'm not telling anybody."

"Huh?!" Her eyes widened and she nearly screamed at him.

"I said I'm not going to tell anyone, geez."

Her big brown eyes began to sparkle and a wide grin appeared on her face. Chase looked at her with a slight blush on his cheeks and cleared his throat.

"However, in return you have to do me a favor."

"Sure… what is it?"

"You know Maya? She's in your class."

"Yeah, I know. The girl with the pigtails in her hair."

"Exactly. I want you to get rid of her for me."

Her face darkened and she swallowed. "You mean… I should kill her?"

"Kill? What are you talking about?! I just want you to make her a little less interested in me!"

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Be nice to her... or whatever you come to think of." He put his hands into the pockets of his trousers, turned around and walked back as carefree as usual.

She looked after him.

_Hell, what did I put myself into?_

At one stroke the door of the doctor's room slammed against the wall and an old lady fiercely glared at Angela who instantly jumped back and froze in shock.

* * *

"So you came all the way to me because you don't feel well, right?" The old lady repeated and looked at Angela sitting on a bed in the doctor's room.

The room was kept in a white tone which made it appear to be clean but also made it bright and somewhat friendlier than she had actually it imagined to be. There were five beds standing in a row at one side of the room. Each of the beds were marked-off by a blue sliding curtain. On the other side were a lot of cupboards placed which seem to contain not only a lot of medicine but also a lot of file according to the amount of formulary lying on the desk of the doctor. The doctor, however, was the old lady. Her hair was already silver and she strictly placed it into a knot at the back of her head. She wore a simple brown dress underneath her lab coat but the shape of her eyes somehow reminded Angela of something.

"My friends told me to come", laughed Angela awkwardly. Friends? She thought about it. Luke was really a good friend but Chase?

"It doesn't matter. Once I looked at you I could directly tell that you don't feel well. Are you feeling dizzy? Do you have any pain?"

"I just feel a little sick."

"Haven you eaten properly lately? A young girl like you needs the proteins."

"Well, I- wait, girl?!"

The lady laughed. "You can't deceive me! Besides, my grandson already told me about you."

"Your grandson?"

"Yes. I'm Irene, the grandmother of Jin. He told me that there was a girl at this school dressing up as a guy. At first I thought he meant Julius but Jin is way too smart to fall for this cheap trick. Once I saw you I knew that you were the girl he was talking about."

_"I don't have the right to publish people's secrets. There is firstly no interest in telling anybody and secondly no profit in doing so."- yeah, I can see that…_

"Oh, you must excuse my grandson telling me. It may seems like he just blurred out your secret but I believe he just wanted to protect you."

"Protect me?" _Construct a complete phrase already! You're sounding like an idiot!_ "I'm sorry but I can't seem to follow." _Way to go, girl!_

"It is easier to have a doctor as a friend than none. I can help you once you get injured during P.E. or when something else is going to happen."

"Sorry but why are you helping me? I mean, you barely know me."

"That's right. I shouldn't actually help you!", she smiled sweetly.

_She's somewhat creepy…_

"I'm doing this because I believe that I can understand your motivation in dressing up as a guy. Every time I hear these girls talking about their love problems I wish I could change my gender, too! So don't worry, my dear. You secret is safe."

She was right.

Chase wasn't interested in telling anybody as long as she kept her promise concerning Maya. Irene wouldn't lose a word either and Jin actually wanted to help her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Confessions **

"Oh my gosh! This is so hot, isn't it?"

Maya twirled around in a pink dress.

"Oh… yeah." Angela knew that she was forced to smile. To be honest, she felt like she shopped for a life time now. They almost spent three hours at Sonata Tailoring which was obviously not such a big shop – it was the only boutique in whole harmonica Town to begin with – but Maya always found another cute skirt or a trendy shirt.

Angela's back hurt so much she already felt like breaking apart. Shelly – an old and absolutely lovely lady with a big round glasses and a more or less plain dress (compared to the clothes she sold) – sat on an old chair and minded her own business. She was looking at some pictures and nodded once in a while. It almost seemed like she didn't even care about that annoying girl in her shop.

"Angelo, check this out. It's going to blow your mind!"

Maya jumped in front of a mirror wearing a red dress with a neck holder which showed off her back.

"How do I look?"

"Great." Angela's face hurt from that fake smile. And she was tired. And hungry. And bored. Now she could understand why boys disliked shopping with girls. It was horrible!

"Would you please buy something already?", snapped a short girl with pink pigtails. Angela could recognize her due to the little flowers in her hair. Her name was Luna if she remembered correctly and she was in the same class as Jin. Since it was Saturday she didn't wear the school uniform but a yellow dress with an orange ribbon around her waist.

With her big blue eyes she glared at Maya angrily.

Angela was surprised. Though she was so short (shorter than her and Maya) she behaved like an evil dog. You know, those little dogs who bark at everything for no reason. That might be the best way to describe Luna. But this time her barking had a reason.

"Oh come on", Maya laughed. "That's not how you're supposed to treat a customer."

"A customer actually _buys_ something. You are just creating a big chaos here."

Then her eyes met Angela's.

"And who are you?"

"That's Angelo, Luna. He's new. He joined our school just two weeks ago."

Yeah it's already been two weeks since she first came to Castanet. Most of the time she had to entertain Maya due to what she promised Chase.

Luna looked at Angela. It was a suspicious sight but then she looked back at Maya again and Angela knew that she didn't detect anything.

"Anyway, hurry up and buy something or leave the shop immediately!"

* * *

In the end, Maya didn't buy anything. Like always.

"Thank you for walking me home, Angelo", she smiled as they stood in front of the Ocarina Inn.

This was also part of the promise.

"No problem", she smiled back. "Well, it's getting dark. See you on Monday then!" She wanted to turn around but Maya held her back.

The girl with the blonde hair and the pink waitress uniform – which she normally just wore when she was helping out in the inn – looked ashamed to the ground.

"I- I wanted to tell you this ever since I first saw you…"

"Hm, what is it?"

"I- I like you, Angelo!"

"Eh?" Angela stared at her shocked.

"You know", Maya sighed and her face became red as the dress she was wearing just a few minutes ago.

"You are different than the other boys in our school-"

_Well, obviously._

"- and you are so nice to me and I really like your smile and your eyes and almost everything about you!"

Then she stopped and her eyes widened. She must have realized what she was actually doing there.

"B-But you know… I mean… good night!"

She quickly opened the door and slammed it in front of Angela's confused face.

* * *

"Man, you look awful!", said Luke and giggled. "Don't tell me this is your new style."

Angela's hair was a completely mess and the dark circles under her eyes didn't make it any better.

"Nah, that's not it."

"Hah, I know the reason! Maya told you that she's totally into you!" He sat down at the bench of the small pond and looked into the cloudless sky.

"You knew?" Angela nearly dropped her fishing-rod.

It was a beautiful Sunday and the both of them hang around at the small pond next to Kas farm.

"I know it from Owen. He knows from Kathy who knows it from Renee who knows it from Toby and so on… Don't know the origin of it though. But since you admitted it, it must be true. Man, two weeks and you already have a girlfriend! I'm living here for years and I never had one!"

He turned around to Angela and grinned:

"You playboy!"

"I'm not a playboy! And I don't have a girlfriend! And I don't want one…"

"Why not?"

"'Cause I just moved here. And I barely know anyone. I want to make friends."

And not _girl_friends. But she couldn't tell him that.

"Then tell Maya how you really feel." He sat up again and looked at the pond.

"That's not so easy. I mean she just confessed to me. I can't destroy her heart like that."

"But since you're not interested in her you have to tell her. Otherwise you'd her hurt even more."

Angela stared at Luke. This was the first time he was being serious. Normally he would just joke around and act stupid but this was the first time they actually had a serious conversation.

"To be honest, I don't know if I would like you to have a girlfriend anyway..."

He blushed.

"I couldn't hang around with you as much as I do right now. And I don't want that…"

As soon as he realized that he was blushing he quickly turned his face away and said:

"You gonna tell her how you fell or what?"

Angela couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes Luke was really cute and she kinda liked this part about him the most.

"Don't laugh at me!", he pouted. "Hey I told you to stop!"

But she wouldn't stop. She would just laugh more.

"Oh, you're so gonna regret that!", he grinned and pushed her into the pond. Water splashed to all sides. Now it was Luke who couldn't help but laugh like a madman.

"You should see your face!", he yelled from laughing.

"Oh yeah? Then look at yours!", she grinned, grabbed his leg and pulled him into the pond.

A huge water fight started. Angela literally pushed the water in Luke's face and he grabbed her arm and pulled her down as he dived. After some seconds both of them came up again and breathed in as if it was their last time.

Angela laughed happily.

"That was so much fun!", she gasped. Her belly hurt from laughing so much.

But then she saw Luke staring into her eyes. His face was only an inch away from hers and she could feel his breath on her skin. His golden eyes focused her and she almost felt like diving into them.

What was this warm feeling inside of her that rose with every passing second?

"You have algae in your hair", Luke grinned then and she felt like waking up from a dream.

"Oh", she mumbled and pulled the green plants out of her hair.

"Anyway, let's better get out. I hope we don't catch a cold!" He said this with so much ease that she somehow wanted to punch him.

Why did he react like this? And why on earth did she have this strange feeling inside of her?

Being a boy seemed to become more complicated than she actually thought.

* * *

As expected, Angela got sick the next day.

"Fever", Kas declared and shook his head. "Honestly, Angy, what on earth were you thinking by jumping into the pond? It's SPRING. Not summer."

"It's not like I tried to become sick, you know", she coughed. She felt like her whole body was burning up.

"You know that you have a weak body. Don't overdo it." Kas stood up and put the thermometer on the table next to her bed.

"Unfortunately I can't stay here and look after you. I have to go to Toucan Island and get some things before the end of the month. It's really not the best time to get sick, Angy."

"Don't worry, Kas. I'm fine. I can watch after myself", she reassured him. But the look on Kas face didn't vanish.

"I'm concerned. Maybe I should just ask a friend to look after you while I'm gone."

"I told you, I'm fiiiiine!"

"Okay, okay. Got it. But if something happens – and I hope that this won't be the case – I left a note with some useful numbers next to the phone, also the number of the Toucan Island Inn. Remember: if anything happens-"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine. No go. You're so noisy… I can't even sleep." She put the blanket over her face.

"I'll be back by tomorrow. And don't open the door when I'm not around!"

"Geez, just go already!" She threw his pillow after him. Kas was too quick though and closed the door behind him. Angela's pillow slowly fell to the floor and she turned around and looked to the window.

She gained another day in order to think of a not so hurtful rejection for Maya. It was not like she really hated her. Maya was just the type of person which was really hard to handle after a while and who wouldn't stop talking for hours. But she really was a nice girl and that's why it was so hard for Angela to simply reject her.

Slowly Angela's eyes closed and she fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

He looked at her closely. While sleeping she really looked a lot like a girl.

Sometimes he couldn't understand how the other people in her class didn't see her as a girl. Her smile and even her behavior were girlish from time to time.

He sat down on the chair at her desk and investigated her room. Just a vase with red tulips slightly hinted to a feminine side. He stood up again and went to her closet. Slowly he opened it and looked inside. As expected. No dresses, no skirts.

That girl must have thought of everything. Except for locking the front door…

He could her some noises, turned around quickly and saw her slowly opening her eyes. As she got conscious her eyes met Chase and she froze in a stare.

"How did you-"

"The front door was open. Really, you should pay more attention to your surroundings."

"That was Kas, not me", she sighed and dazed off in daydreams. Quickly she caught herself again and remembered that a guy was standing in her room. And not any guy. A guy who knew about her secret.

"What are you doing here?", she asked and tried to stand up but directly sank back into her bed.

Just now Chase noticed her burning face. He laid his hand on her forehead. A high fever.

"Did you take some medicine?", he asked.

"What? Yeah… I guess…"

"Where's the bathroom? You need some cold water."

"It's there", she pointed into the direction powerlessly. "But why?"

Without answering her he directly went to the bathroom. Angela could hear water pour out of the tap. Her thoughts were all messed up.

After a minute Chase returned and put a cold handkerchief on her forehead. He could literally hear her cool off.

"Where's your brother?"

"He went to Toucan Island… but why are you here?", Angela coughed. "You could have just close the door and go away, you know."

"So, do you want me to go?", he hissed and turned around.

"No." She immediately grabbed his arm and didn't let go of him.

Chase watched her shocked.

"Don't leave me alone", she coughed, unable to let her eyes stay open. They automatically closed.

Did she even know what she was saying? Watching her condition it would be a miracle for her to even think properly.

"Don't worry, I won't go", he said and softly took her hand so that she would let go of his arm. "Rest now, I will stay with you."

"It's a promise?"

With her big round eyes she rather resembled a little girl than the cheeky cross-dresser he got to know.

"Yes, I promise", he reassured her.

"Thank you, Kas", she whispered and smiled as she fell asleep.

Chase gently let go of her hand and looked at her sleeping face.

_That girl_, he thought and covered her with an extra blanket. He couldn't help but admit a slight smile.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 'Flower Festival' or 'Doom Festival'?**

Angela looked at the note he left and couldn't believe it.

_You're really weird when you're sick. Going all lovey-dovey over me for no reason._

_You should behave more like a guy or otherwise everyone will reveal your secret, airhead._

She tried to remember what happened yesterday. She knew that he was in her room but why?

_And what the heck does he mean by 'lovey-dovey'? What did I tell him?_

In the end, she just ended up tearing the note apart and flushing it down the toilet. Problem solved.

It didn't take a minute until the telephone rang.

"Angel-… o here?"

_Crap. I nearly screwed it. I should be more careful now._

"Yo, man!", Luke screamed into the phone. Gladly he didn't notice her nervousness.

"Are you sick? You didn't come to school! Man I got worried! I tried to call you since yesterday but nobody picked up the phone!"

"Yeah, sorry about that... I got a cold and slept the whole day." Somehow she didn't want to tell him about Chase' sudden visit.

"Nah, it's cool. Did you tell Maya actually?"

"Huh?" Maya? Her brain rewound the last days. "Oh! Oh, no. Like I said I was sleeping all day."

"I see…", Luke sounded worried.

"Is everything alright?"

"About that I should tell you something… Every year around that time we organize a big festival held at the school grounds. Your brother probably told you about it."

Kasey never told her anything to begin with.

"It's called the 'Flower Festival'. Every class prepares something they're going to present at the day of the festival. This year the Student Council decided on organizing something with all classes. They told us yesterday during homeroom class. They decided that we're going to organize a musical for the customers to visit. They even decided on the story."

"Sounds cool", she said and remembered the times at her old school when she helped backstage to prepare the backgrounds. "What story is it?"

"It's 'Sleeping Beauty', you know it?"

"Sure. I guess everybody knows it."

"Yeah but there is one problem", Luke said and sounded slightly nervous. "We drew by lot who`s going to be who in the play. I don't know how to say it, man, but you're going to be the princess. Moreover, Maya is going to be your prince."

Angela didn't say anything for a minute or so. Luke joined her until a loud noise from his side broke the silence.

"Luke, I told you five times already! Don't use your cell phone while we're preparing for the musical!"

"Wah, sorry, man! Phoebe found me. Gotta call you later, see ya. What cell phone are you talking about?"

Then he hung up and Angela still stared at the phone. This was a bad dream, right? It had to be!

Nervously she looked at the calendar. Only a week until the Flower Festival. Kas even marked it on the calendar.

Playing a princess was one thing, but being kissed by Maya was another. She knew the story, Kas read it out to her when she was still a little girl. In the end, there was always a kiss. Everyone expected it! But could she kiss a girl? Especially a girl who fell in love with her?

"No, no, no!", she yelled and ran in a circle. "I can't do this! I'm just going to pretend that I'm sick forever!"

_Won't work. Kas will surely notice it_, her inner voice reminded her. _Or he's sending you to Choral Clinic. At the latest, they will notice that you're just pretending to be sick._

"Then I have to get sick again! No matter what!", she yelled and ran to the fridge. "Just what kind of sickness should I get? It has to be severe so that I can stay at home for another week, but not too severe so that I won't die. Maybe I should eat something rotten."

Her eyes met some cookies Maya gave her some days ago before they went shopping. Angela knew the rumors concerning Maya's cooking.

_Hopefully, it's as awful as everybody says_, she thought and took a bite of a small cookie.

* * *

"Let me guess… you ate Maya's cookies?", Kas looked at his little sister and the cookies lying next to her.

"Yeah", Angela cried as she held her stomach. "I didn't think that they'd be this awful!"

"Didn't I warn you? Never, ever eat her stuff. Let me search for some pain killers."

"Hurry!", she said. "It feels like something's going to explode inside my tummy!"

"I believe you won't be able to school for some days. Maya's cooking really knocks people off. It might be better if we go to Irene and let her check you", he said as he was searching for some medicine in the bathroom. "Here you go."

He gave her some pink pills.

"But it's such a shame. Your first 'Flower Festival' and you won't be able to help with the preparations. I heard from Chase that you're going to play the main role in the musical! So bad you can't practice for it."

"Chase told you?", she asked after swallowing the pills. "Did you visit the Brass Bar again?"

"Just a tiny little drink", he smiled. "Anyway, why don't you guys learn the script together?"

"Huh?" Angela nearly yelled at Kas. What kind of idea was this? Totally ridiculous!

"Why should I learn my script with him? Besides I won't be able to play the main role, anyway!"

"Don't worry, Angy. Tomorrow I'm going to Irene and buy some Bodigizer. I'm not going to let you miss this opportunity."

_No way, I ate all these cookies for nothing?!_

Suddenly there came a knocking from the front door.

"Coming!", Kas yelled. "I hope it's my tulips delivery! I can't wait to plant these!"

He danced his way out of Angela's room.

"Hey, Angy! Luke's here! Oh, please come in."

Within a second, Luke was standing in the door frame investigating her room.

"Yo, man!", he smiled as suddenly his smile grew bigger. "Or should I call you 'Angy'?"

"Only my brother calls me that", she quickly answered and looked at the blue folder he was holding in his hands. "What's that?"

"Oh, yeah. Totally forgot. I brought you the script for the musical." Suddenly he looked at her worried. "I heard you ate Maya's cookies? But actually, you look healthier than I thought you would. Dude, you must have a stomach out of iron!"

"Yeah, seems like it", she forced herself to smile.

"I remember my first time eating her cookies. No good memories. Do you think you'll be able to come to school?"

"Yeah, I think so", she sighed. "Reminds me. Do you have a role in the play, too?"

"Eh, kinda. I brought you the list with the division of the characters. Wanna see it?"

"Sure, why not."

Luke opened the folder and gave it to Angela.

"See. You're right at the top!"

_ - Sleeping Beauty -_

_ Sleeping Beauty Angelo_

_ King Luna_

_ Queen Julius_

_ Prince Maya_

_ Wicked Fairy Chase_

_ Dragon Dale_

_ Moderator Luke_

_ Fairies Anissa, Candace, Selena, Ignis, Renee, Vivi, Owen, Kathy, Calvin, Sephia, Toby_

_ 12__th__ Fairy Bo_

_ Producer Gill, Jin, Phoebe_

"Owen's a fairy?", Angela laughed. "Oh man, I have to see that! Huh? A dragon?"

"Well, we discussed about this a lot but we all wanted a dragon to be in there! Actually, I wanted to be it…" Luke's sight fell to the floor.

"But you're the moderator! That's awesome! You have a lot of text, too!"

"Yeah but this is the problem… I'm not good with remembering lines. I can barely remember my own phone number!"

"You just need to practice", she comforted him. "I can help you learn them!"

"Really?", he smiled.

Angela's heart skipped a beat.

"Eh… yeah."

_What's wrong with me?!_

"Great! But then you have to come to school tomorrow. We need to make the backgrounds and organize the costumes. You can't miss the whole fun!"

"Okay, okay. I'll come."

"Great!" His smile nearly covered his whole face. "Then, see ya tomorrow!"

"See ya!", she waved after him as he left her room and said goodbye to Kas. "W-Wait, I'm going?!"

As she promised him, Angela showed up at school the next time. And actually it wasn't that bad as she thought it would be. She helped Luke and Owen building the backgrounds, got her sizes taken by Candace and advised Julius on picking a color for his royal dress.

She didn't even see Maya for a second because the classes split up in groups to prepare everything in different places.

And as time went by, the day of the 'Flower Festival' arrived.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 The Sleeping Beauty of the Flower festival**

"So many visitors!", whispered Kathy as she looked through the curtain. "The hall is already filled!"

"Okay, people, stop chattering!", yelled Phoebe. "The President of the Student Council wants to say something."

Everybody looked at a young blond boy with ice blue eyes. This was Angela's first time meeting him but Luke always talked about him while preparing the musical. She knew that his name was Gill and that he was the mayor's son.

_No wonder, that he's the president of the Student Council_, she thought. _He even looks so serious in his uniform._

"We've put a lot of effort in this and I'm sure that we're going to have some good memories. Now everyone, do your best outside and we'll make this festival a success!"

His eyes met Angela for the blink of an eye but then he turned around to talk to Jin and Phoebe who were also part of the Student Council. Though it was just an elusive eye contact, Angela somehow felt strange. She felt as if he saw right through her soul. Not noticing, her heart started to race.

"You're okay, dude?" Luke poked at Angela. "You're still in your uniform! Not going to change until you have to, huh?"

"You caught me", she laughed and looked at his costume. He wore a pair of white pants, a white shirt with a dark blue waistcoat and a red Victorian Ascot Tie. But the most surprising thing was his hair.

"Your bandana!", she gasped and pointed at the place where it should actually be. "You took it off?!"

"Well, yeah", he smiled and scratched his head. "You know, since you have to wear a dress I thought that I could at least take my bandana off. So… you're not the only one who has a tough time, you know."

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

This was the first time Luke ever saw her with that kind of smile. It was different from all the other times she would smile. This smile was… honest. As if she reached her hand out to touch his heart, this smile made him feel so weird.

"No big deal, you know", he quickly turned around to hide his blushing face. "Gotta go now. Cheer me on!"

"Good luck!", she called after him but he was already on stage.

* * *

The hall was filled with so many people that it nearly seemed to explode. Everyone was happily chatting, waiting for the play to finally start.

Luke quickly went in front of the closed curtain and the light was all on him.

"Once upon a time!", he exclaimed and the audience went all quiet. "In a country far away, our story took place. The king of this land was hidden in deep despair for he had no child that would someday rule the land."

The curtain rose and Luna in a red coat and big golden crown sat on a throne in front of the background showing a royal hall. She sighed and looked frustrated. The real reason was obvious: She wanted to play the Sleeping Beauty. Mostly because being the King meant to wear a black moustache which constantly tickled her nose.

"I need a child!", she groaned in a deep voice which made her sound more like a man.

"Eventually, the Queen got pregnant and gave birth to a healthy little girl", Luke continued.

Julius in a big red dress danced around the stage, holding a doll. Though the doll should be in the center of attention, Julius clearly made the audience to only look at him. He sewed the dress himself – he was mainly inspired by the Victorian Age – and added a lot of jewels and roses to it. He pinned up his hair and wore a heavy looking tiara. Additionally, he added more make up than usual to his face which made him look like a real woman.

"He really got fired up!", whispered Owen as he looked at the scene from the backstage. "As expected he exaggerated."

"Yeah", Kathy nodded while Phoebe pinned her wings at her white dress. "But I must admit that he looks really beautiful!"

"In order to congratulate the royal couple, twelve special guests were invited!", Luke exclaimed.

"Someone bring me those fairies!" Luna threw her fist in the air which caused her moustache to nearly fall off. Quickly she caught him in time. "Euh… anon!"

Twelve fairies – all wearing white dresses and a pair of plastic wings – entered the stage and formed a circle around the royal couple which was open to the audience.

Speaking of the audience – as soon as they caught sight of Owen wearing a white dress and little wings they burst into tears due to the laughter arising within the tiers. But as Ignis showed up wearing the exact same outfit, the laughter suddenly broke off and turned into amazement.

"He looks so… natural somehow", whispered somebody in the audience.

"I know", agreed somebody else. "He looks like a god, doesn't he?"

Luke cleared his throat to gain the people's attention.

"Each fairy offered the newborn child a gift. Such as beauty, wisdom and kindness!", he stated.

All the fairies went to the doll Julius held in his arms and pretended to bless it. After that each fairy went back to its place.

"But before the last fairy could offer her gift, the wicked fairy appeared who wasn't invited by the Kind and the Queen."

With a loud bang and a lot of smoke – Jin and Gill gladly persuaded the chemistry teacher to let them use one of his inventions which could produce smoke – Chase appeared on the stage.

Angela gazed at him from the backstage and was clearly amazed. He wore a long black dress and furry stole. Though he had refused to wear any make-up, Julius still could manage to put some eyeliner on while fighting him. Once Julius got inspired by something he was unstoppable. Nevertheless Chase looked really mean and scary.

_This role fits him perfectly, thought Angela with a grin. A scary guy gets to play a scary fairy. Fantastic!_

"Because you did not invite me!", yelled Chase in a creepy voice. "I will curse your precious daughter! Once she turns sixteen years old, she will prick her hand on a spindle and die!" Then with an ear-piercing laugh the wicked fairy disappeared in the smoke.

"Oh no!", cried Julius and pretended to faint. "What shall we do? Oh my beloved daughter! My heart, my soul, my –"

"Julius!", hissed Luna and stepped on his feet. Then she cleared her throat.

"Indeed, what can we do?", she then went back to her 'manly' voice.

"Fortunately", said Luke. "One fairy still remained…"

A boy with ash blond hair – Angela knew that this was Bo, one of Luke's best friends – stepped to the front of the stage and nervously looked at the audience. He opened his mouth but no words escaped from the shy boy.

"That's bad", whispered Renee who also played a fairy and stood next to Kathy. "He is too nervous!"

"Hey, fairy!", yelled Kathy. "You still have your gift, right?"

The audience chuckled.

"Euh… yes!", answered Bo quickly. "I have yet to give my gift and I will use it wisely so that this little child won't die."

He went to Julius and put his hand on the chest of the doll.

"Once she turns sixteen, she may prick her hand on a spindle but she will not day. I will let her fall into a deep slumber that will last hundred years until the son of a king will come to wake her."

Then the scene fell and everybody began to quickly change the scene. Owen and Calvin switched the backgrounds while the girls quickly went backstage.

"Quick, Angelo, you need to get changed!", insisted Kathy and pushed her to the changing room. "Here's your dress. And now, quick!" She then locked the door behind her.

Angela looked down at her dress. She knew that she had to wear it but she really didn't want to.

"Thirty seconds until the curtain rises!", yelled Phoebe within the chaos. "Is the spindle at its place?"

"Well, yes. Kinda", answered Luke. "We couldn't get a spindle so we asked Shelly if she would borrow us her sewing machine."

"That should work", sighed Phoebe. "Twenty seconds remain!"

"Come on, Angelo!" Kathy knocked at the door to the changing room. "We don't have much time left!"

Then the door opened and Angela stepped outside, her face burning as if she had a severe fever.

"10 seconds left!", Phoebe yelled and everyone went back to their places.

Luna and Julius sat down at the edge of the stage in front of the curtain. Luke followed them but stood with the back to the curtain and looked to the audience.

"In fear of the prophecy", he said and quickly went to the side of the stage. The flood light followed him immediately. "The King let his soldiers burn all spindles so that his precious daughter would be safe."

The curtain rose and revealed the scene of an old tower in which a disguised figure sat at a sewing-machine.

"Meanwhile the little child turned into a young lady who was as beautiful as a rose."

"Go!", whispered Kathy and pushed Angela to the stage. She nearly stumbled upon her own feet as she tried to walk in these shows.

Luke paused and stared at Angela. Just like everybody else in the scene.

She wore a soft pink dress which looked – compared to Julius' dress – rather plain. But in his inspiration, Julius even added some extras to her dress. Around her waist he added some dark pink roses to the dress which could also be found in Angela's hair. Usually, her hair was messy and pointed to all directions but now it was smooth and soft. To her own surprise, Kathy refused to put any make-up on her face – which was strange for she liked it to style people.

Suddenly Luke woke up from his daydream due to the punch in the knee he earned from Luna.

"B-But curiosity rose inside the young princess and as she wandered around the castle one day she heard a mysterious noise."

Chase turned the sewing-machine on and the audience began to laugh.

"Wanting to know where this noise came from she climbed up the tower to find an old woman sitting at a spindle."

"What are you doing there, grandmother?", asked Angela and walked next to Chase.

"I'm spinning, my dear", he said in his 'old-lady-voice'. "But I am old and I can't see properly anymore. Would you do an old lady a favor and continue my work?"

"Of course", Angela said and touched the needle of the sewing machine. She pretended to faint into the arms of Chase who took of his disguise and was revealed as the wicked fairy.

"Now close your eyes and sleep", he whispered into Angela's ear. "But don't talk about how much you love me while you sleep, okay? This might be embarrassing for you."

Angela closed her eyes and tried really hard not to open them again and punch him in the face.

Then Chase put her softly down on the floor and ran from the stage.

Bo went outside and picked up the sleeping princess. He then carried her to a bed which was standing right next to the sewing-machine. These were the times when Angela wished that she would have refused to eat the last piece of cake because Bo clearly seemed to have his problems taking her to the bed.

The audience started to chuckle again.

"Because the fairy who casted the princess to fall asleep was really old she used her magic and lifted her upon a bed", Luke quickly said and jumped to Bo. Without hesitating he lifted Angela up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

She couldn't help but blush while forcing herself to remain quiet and let her eyes closed.

Luke laid her upon the bed and quickly went to the side of the stage again. The audience applauded for him.

"Then the fairy casted a spell on the whole castle so that even the King and the Queen would sleep for one hundred years!" Luke looked at Bo who just stared at him. "I said: the fairy casted a spell!"

"Oh, yeah, right", Bo nodded, went to Luna and Julius and closed their eyelids. Both of them pretended to be asleep and didn't move a muscle.

"Additionally, the fairy casted a spell on the trees and flowers so that thorns and brambles would cover the castle and prevent the princess from being disturbed in her sleep… But as one hundred years passed, a young prince came across the land and found this most mysterious place."

The flooding lamp spotted Maya behind the last seats in the back row of the audience.

She wore a golden robe and a big head with a large green feather on top. Candace had designed this costume and was heavily inspired by the three musketeers.

"He remembered the legend of a beautiful princess sleeping within a castle covered in thorns and decided to safe her. But as he approached the castle, a big and dangerous dragon appeared in front of him blocking his way!"

Gale which was also known as the 'Wizard' stood in a green dragon costume in front of Maya and looked clearly unsatisfied. Luna had drawn the white tattoos on his face green so that they'd match the dragon costume. This made his emerald green eyes shine like jewels and contrasted his tanned skin.

"Your lines", whispered Maya encouraging.

"I am a dragon and I won't let you pass until you defeat me", Gale said in a monotone voice.

"Defeat him!", screamed Vivi – a white-haired girl with golden eyes – from the backstage. Everyone in school called her 'Witch' because she was into the same kind of stuff as Dale and happened to have a really complicated personality. "Show this arrogant brat your sword!"

"Anyway", coughed Luke. "The prince was able to defeat the dragon and made his way through the thorns to safe the princess."

Maya stuck her wooden sword between Gale's arm and chest. The dragon then fell to the ground and didn't move anymore. Quickly she ran through the audience to the front and climbed up the stage. As she stood next to Angela she began to blush.

"Seeing the sleeping princess, the prince directly fell in love with her. Though he tries everything he can't seem to wake her and falls into despair. In his despair he decides to-"

Luke paused and looked puzzled.

"Luke!", hissed Luna who was still pretending to sleep. "Say: 'He decides to kiss her'!"

"He decides to kiss-", he stuttered and looked at Maya who was already bowing down to Angela's face. Their faces almost touched.

Luke couldn't say anything further.

Suddenly the light went out and everyone looked around in panic. A few seconds passed and the light turned on again.

Maya stared at the others puzzled. What just happened? Also Angela opened her eyes and sat up in the bed to see what was happening.

"Seems like we missed the kiss! Too bad!", said somebody in the audience.

"Luke, go on!", hissed Luna.

"Yeah, right.." he caught himself and continued: "Not only the princess woke up but the rest of the castle, too. The princess and the prince lived happily ever after! The End!"

The audience stood up and applauded them.

"You did this on purpose", stated Jin and looked to the main actors bowing down.

"I know", said Chase and let go of the lever saying:

_Light._

* * *

**_Oh, I'd really love to see Chase in a dress! Or Luke without his bandana... To be honest, I actually wanted to let the dice decide who's going to have which part in the play but as I thought about it I just couldn't resist to let Julius play the queen! Seriously, this chapter was the most fun to write so far. And things are getting interesting~_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 Dead End, Angelo!**

„THIS. WAS. AWESOME!", exclaimed Luke as he and Angela walked around the school yard. After they had changed back to their normal school uniform – Angela made sure to get a room just for her – Luke had decided to take a look at the booths. "Did ya see my dad? He was dazzled to see me speaking like that!" He beamed and scratched his neck. "I didn't tell him about my role before. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Luke!" A voice caught them and both of them stopped. Bo was running after them, breathing hard as he stopped in front of them. "I-I wanted to thank you." His face was all red as he spoke.

"Man, you don't look so well", Luke said and put a hand on his forehead. "Bo you have a fever!"

"I-It's nothing. I just wanted to do well at today's performance so I stayed up all night."

"What? But we're sleeping in the same room. How didn't I notice?" Luke pouted like a little child. "Man, you should go to Irene and take a nice nap! Otherwise you're gonna collapse here!"

"I-I'm fine. There is something I have to do…", he lowered his sight and Luke stared at him for a few seconds until he realized what the small boy was talking about.

"Oh", his mouth formed, eyes round as a plate. "Yeah, good luck, man."

"Thank you", he beamed and ran off in excitement.

"Luke?", Angela asked carefully. "Is it alright to let him go off so easily? He might hurt himself…"

"He's a man and if he has to do something than he has to do it", he stretched his arms. A wild grind appeared on his face but Angela could see the worried gleam in his golden eyes.

_A fake smile? How uncommon for him._

"Anyway, why don't we go and take a look at the cherry trees?"

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh?' me, man! There's a reason why it is called 'Flower Festival'. So let's go together!", he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd.

"W-Wait, Luke!", she screamed and tried to dodge the people standing in her way. "You are way too fast!"

"You are way too slow!", he yelled back at her, showing her his most lovely smile.

And then it happened. Her heart skipped a beat, she lost sight of where she was going and ran right into someone. The crash made Luke letting go of her hand, she fell backwards and hit her head on the ground.

Her vision got blurry and the world around her seemed to spin like a carrousel. Somehow she could recognize Luke's face but his eyes wandered to his forehead, his mouth a nose were twisted.

"You look funny", she snickered. Next to Luke was a tall boy with blonde hair and icy eyes which wandered to his throat and danced in circles. His eyebrows twirled to his mouth. "And a moustache!" She grabbed after the blonde guy.

"Oh, this looks bad", breathed Luke in and scratched his head. "ARE. YOU. OKAY?"

"He is not deaf", stated Gill and softly put her hand back down. "We should take him immediately to the infirmary. "Would you mind carrying him?"

"Sure, no problem", Luke mumbled and picked Angela up like a little doll. "Good thing he is so light! Man, I should do some serious work out with him some time. This is kinda embarrassing for a guy." He carried her in his arms and followed Gill through the crowd.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star", replied Angela and drooled a little.

* * *

"It seems that he's not hurt at all. But to be on the safe side he should visit the clinic tomorrow", Jin removed the stethoscope from his ears and went over to a little fridge in the infirmary. Out of it he took a thermal pack and lay it on the back of Angela's head.

"I won't ask what you have done there but it's not like I have enough beds for you to fill with corpse", he addressed his words directly to Luke.

"It wasn't me!", he tried to defend himself. "It's not like I'm a delinquent, ya know…"

"To be correct, he ran right into me. Partly it seems to be my fault."

"I see", he nodded.

"What? You let him go off like that? What is with me?", pouted Luke. "That's so not fair!"

"Luke, would you do me a favor?", Jin smiled sweetly. "It is a task that only you can fulfill!"

"Sure!", he beamed. "What is it? What is it?" He looked like a little puppy wagging his tail in excitement.

"Could you find Phoebe for me and ask her if she knows anything about 'aurum'? Since you are fast you can spot her in no time!"

"Yeah! I'm off!", Luke nodded excited and left the infirmary in an instance.

"'Aurum', huh?", asked Gill, putting his hands into his pockets.

"Once she starts talking about gold, there's no way to stop her. So we have gained some time. I assume you wanted to talk to me about something, President?" Jin pushed his glasses up hiding the expression of his eyes.

"Indeed, Vice President" The edges of Gill's lip curved and revealed a row of perfect teeth. "Why are you covering the identity of this girl? It is quite unusual for you to behave like this without receiving any benefits."

Jin grinned. "Who said that there weren't any benefits?"

Gill frowned but then this frown disappeared from his face and instead a small smile appeared. He took a look at the unconscious Angela in front of him. She was sleeping calmly, her mouth a little bit opened and her eye lashes shaking as she seemed to have a bad dream.

"A girl that starts over as a boy but is extremely bad at hiding her true gender… quite interesting…" He turned back to Jin. "I will make sure to keep an eye on her in the future."

"Yes, President", Jin said and bowed slightly as Gill left the infirmary. Not a second passed after he was gone and Jin sat down on a chair sighing. His eyes wandered off to Angela.

"What a strange girl", he stated and observed her carefully. For him it was unbelievable how anybody could mistake her for a boy. Although she tried really hard to hide this fact there was something about her that gave her a feminine look. And this could be seen even without her wearing a dress. But what was it?

"Go away, Luke", she mumbled. "I don't want to sniff your dirty shoes…"

His hand moved to his mouth as he tried to restrain laughter. He leaned forward and examined her face. A small smile appeared on her lips and he remembered the first time he met her.

Yes, that was it. The first time he met her she was chatting with Luke in the cafeteria. It was this simple smile of her with which she had greeted him. This simple yet obvious pretty smile made him see her true gender. But the more he thought about it the more he was wondering. How was Gill able to identify her true gender?

She never really talked to him and probably saw him today for the first time as she was walking around backstage.

_I shouldn't underestimate him_, he thought. _The President might have seen through this even before I did._

"Jin, I'm back!" Luke opened the door and walked casually in. "Man, you tricked me. If you wanted to know something about gold then-" He froze as he saw Jin being so close to Angela's sleeping face. Immediately his face turned from pink to bright red and his mouth trembled. "I-I… I'm sorry I didn't know you-"

"His face was burning up so I wanted to check his temperature", Jin lied and pushed his glasses up. "There's no sign of a fever. Anyway, I believe he's having a nightmare. Would you be so kind to stay by his side until he wakes up? Once that happens, make sure he continually puts something cold on the bruise."

"And where are you going?", Luke moaned.

"There is something I need to take care of", Jin quickly answered and left the infirmary without further instructions.

Though he wouldn't admit it, Luke directly felt relieved as the door closed and he let out a deep sigh. The memory of Jin being so close to Angelo might him feel quite uneasy. His heart beat faster and he could feel the heat crawling up his face.

"Dammit", he mumbled and pulled his bandana over his eyes. Why wouldn't this feeling disappear already? He couldn't have fallen for his buddy!

A noise rang in his ears and he flinched. Glancing at Angelo made his heart skipping a beat. Without knowing it he approached her and cowered right next to his bed. Elbows on the blanket, he rested his head on his hands and stared at his sleeping face.

_Thump, thump, thump._ His heartbeat wouldn't slow down.

"I said I don't want to take a smell at your shoes!"

Before he could react a fist directly landed on his face and slammed him to the ground.

"Huh?", Angela mumbled as she woke up. Hearing strange noises appearing from the right side of the bed, she took a look and found Luke lying on the ground. His nose was bleeding as he tried to cover it with his hands.

"Your nose looks like a volcano", she mumbled.

"That's not funny!", he whined. "But I guess you reap what you sow."

"Huh?"

* * *

Angela carefully put a Band-Aid on his nose.

"Ouch!", he yelled. He was sitting on the chair right next to the bed Angela was sitting on.

"I'm sorry", she mumbled and a sad gleam appeared in her eyes.

"Don't worry", he quickly said and put on a smile. "It's not your fault you nearly broke my nose… wait... that sounds wrong…"

"I'm also apologizing because we couldn't go watch the cherry trees due to me. If I only focused more on where I was going…"

"Yo, look at me." Her sight lifted and she directly looked at his golden eyes.

"Those trees won't run away", he smiled. "There's plenty of time for us to watch them. So don't worry about it, 'kay?"

She nodded, her lips curving into a relieved smile.

How did it come that he never recognized that pretty smile of hers? Now it hit him far harder than her fist some minutes ago.

"It's done", she said, moving her hands away from his face. In an instance he grabbed them and stared at her in shock. Both of them stared at each other agape. Neither of them predicted this to happen.

"Ah, sorry", Luke let her hands go and scratched his head in embarrassment. "It's just that I can't get that image of you in a dress out of my head. Damn, I actually treat you like a girl, huh? Sorry, man!"

He laughed and jumped on his feet. Angela still stared at him dumbfounded.

"C'mon, the festival isn't over yet. Let's go and have some fun!" he reached his hand out for her.

"Y-Yeah", she smiled awkwardly taking his hand.

_I should have just told him the truth_, she thought as she followed him. _Geez, I'm such an idiot!_

On their way to the school's entrance they found a small boy crying in a corner of a hallway. Approaching him it appeared to be Bo.

"Aw, man!", Luke sighed and cowered in front of him. "I can tell what happened."

"She dumped me!", he cried, tears running down his face. "She didn't even want to look at the cherry tree with me!"

"Dude, I'm sorry for ya. But you can't force her, right? Maybe it was just too sudden for her."

"No, it wasn't", he sniffed rubbing his eyes with his arm. "She only wanted to be with Gill the whole time. Gill, Gill, Gill! That's all she says… What's so good about him anyway?"

"Well he's the son of the mayor, top student and the current President of the Student Council", Luke listed by using his fingers. "Oh and I heard many girls squealing about his good looks."

"I don't think he really wanted to know, Luke…" Angela shook her head and glanced at the small boy in front of her. "Hey!"

Bo flinched and looked at her.

"Don't make such a face", she simply said. "Do you want to give her a bad time just because she was honest to you?"

"No… not really…"

"Then forget about it and smile. If she sees your pretty smile she might change her mind."

"Do you think so?"

"It's worth a try, isn't it?"

Bo nodded and tried to smile, though it was obviously a fake one.

"Alright", she said while clasping her hand. "Now let's make that smile of you a sincere one! Why don't you spend the rest of the day with Luke and me?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea!", the guy with the golden eyes replied in an instant. "The more the merrier! Let's buy some snacks at first! I'm soooo hungry!"

"O-Okay", Bo stuttered, the smile on his face growing a bit more sincere. "I really want to…"

* * *

Time faded and the vast sky turned dark blue. The moon – ripe as an apple and shimmering like a pearl – placed itself in a field of golden stars and remembered the visitors of the Flower Festival to find their way back home. Also Luke, Bo and Angela made their way back home, following the small path leading towards Kassey's farm.

Speaking for Bo he had quite a fun day and secretly fell asleep as everybody watched the cherry trees in their full blossom. So Luke had to carry him on his back for he didn't want him to remember of the fact that Luna dumped him. Basically it was just the two of them – Luke and Angela – who were still at full consciousness.

After Luke walked her home and wished her a good night the front door opened itself and golden light filled the dark night. Like an angel – surrounded by bright light – Kas was standing in the door frame. Reading his facial expression, he was far away from being an angel. Actually, he appeared more like the devil to her.

"Angela", he hissed, arms crossed in front of his chest. "We two need to discuss something."

For a moment she just stared at him trying to remember anything that she might have done to him.

No, she didn't eat the last piece of the cake. No, she didn't forget to feed the animals while he was absent. And she even recorded his favorite daily soap as he had asked her.

And then it hit her. It hit her so hard that she nearly stumbled over her own feet.

"I-I can explain!", she squeaked.

"Yeah, and I can't wait to hear your explanation for this, _Angelo_."

* * *

**It is not such a long chapter compared to the last ones, I know, I know**

**But I didn't want to waste so much time writing about this _one_ festival.  
**

**Anyway, now I want to focus more on the daily school life again and of course it is time for Kas to find out her secret.**

**But how did he find out? Hm. Beats me. Do you know?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 Talking About Myself**

It was like the movies she used to watch when she was still living with her parents. The chair she was sitting on was one of the uncomfortable kind and the lamp pointing right into her eyes made her face burn up. Sweat drops ran down her chin and a black figure paced from left to right in front of her.

"So", Kas began and folded his hands behind his back. He stopped, his back turned to his little sister.

"I have evidence that…" He quickly twirled around and pointed his finger right to her face. "You changed your name in order to cross-dress as a boy!"

"Kas", she sighed, hands trying to cover her blinded eyes. "Could you please stop this childish act? You're no officer. I mean, where did you even get that fake moustache from?"

"What fake moustache, miss?", he asked, gently stroking his fake moustache. "Don't play the innocent! I have evidence and you have no alibi at all!"

"Kas, that doesn't make any sense. I mean – okay – it is true that everyone in school believes that I am a boy but it's not like I made them believe this!"

"You cannot fool me! I know that you hid your uniform and ran around as a boy behind my back!"

"Like I said", she breathed. "It is just a mere misunderstanding. Well, I don't know how I actually got stuck in this kind of situation but I'm really comfortable the way I am right now. You don't have to pay attention to your looks: no make-up, no fancy dresses – simply being yourself. And I experienced a lot of stuff recently that – "

"Okay, stop it!", he yelled and for once – since the last couple of minutes – a serious look came back to his face. With a quick _Zap!_ he removed the fake moustache from his upper lip.

"Angy, you know that you're are my little sister and that I respect your every decisions. But – and here I have to be strict – you are my little _sister_! Imagine Mum or Dad seeing you like this. They would be so shocked and disappointed."

"It's not like they'd care, you know", she mumbled sorely and avoided his gaze.

"Angy, I understand you're fascinated by the awesomeness of being a man but being a girl isn't so bad either! Don't you think everyone would be happy to call such a sweet young lady like you their friend?"

"No", Angela directly replied. "They wouldn't. Because everybody told me that they were so fucking happy that I am a boy when they first met me!"

"They only said this because you've told them that you are a boy in the first place!"

"No!", she answered back. "I never said anything like this. The teacher called me 'Angelo'. Not to mention they've send me that uniform in the first place. It is obviously your fault, Kas! You signed me in as a boy!"

"No, I didn't!", he hissed but stopped to think about it. "Well, not that I could recall… Anyway, you have to tell them the truth. You can't pretend to be a boy forever! What about P.E.?"

"I already settled this. I got my own changing room. And Irene and Jin also know that I am a girl. They both promised me to keep it a secret."

"So they know? Who else?"

"Well, nobody… oh, yeah", she remembered. "Chase does. But just because you told him."

"How could I have possibly known that my cute little sister would run around pretending to be a boy?"

"Yeah", she sated. "How did you know anyway?"

"Luke's father came by to pick me up for the festival. He told me that my "little brother" got the main part in the play. He even asked me if my little sister went back to the mainland for he had no chance to meet her." A frown placed itself on his skin.

"And… you told him?", she asked as innocently as possible.

"Of course I didn't", he sighed and rubbed his forehead. A typical habit of him which he only showed once he got depressed. "You are my little sis! I couldn't do anything to harm you…"

"So you won't tell anybody? And you're not going to force me to reveal my secret?"

"No, I won't tell but I'm advising you to reveal the truth yourself. You have made quite a lot of friends and they deserve to know the real you."

"But this is my real me!" She jumped up and ran to Kas. She placed her left hand upon her chest just where her heart slept under her skin. "I've never been so happy before! Please, just let me stay here as a boy as long as I possibly can…"

"Fine, Angelo", he mumbled and earned a big hug from his little sister. "But you owe me one."

* * *

"Okay, your first task is to get me something to eat. I am hungry." Kas collapsed on the coach and turned on the TV. "I feel like eating tomato stew. Get me some from the Brass Bar."

"Yes, my lord", she replied and went to the door. A month had pissed since Kas had found out about her secret and in order to make him keep it a secret she had to play his loyal and ever so caring butler.

"Oh and make sure it is still hot once you get back! Nobody likes cold tomato stew."

"Yes, my lord."

The sun was hitting the horizon and the stars above her head grew brighter and brighter the longer she stared at the sapphire blue sky. She wore a pair of black Capri pants and a light blue T-Shirt. It was the beginning of the summer but the night was already warm enough to not care about any jackets. Her brown sandals made a creaky sound on the path to Harmonica Town.

_If I knew he would make me his slave… dammit, I should have thought about it twice!_

The streets lamps at Harmonica Town already beamed a dull golden light and many moths danced around the grey lamps. Cicadas and crickets played a calming symphony and gave the night an own rhythm.

Suddenly something hit her side and she trembled backwards. Luckily, she caught herself before she could get a bruise twice.

"It seems to me you often get involved in these kinds of situations." She looked up to see who was talking to her and swallowed as she detected his ice blue eyes.

"President!"

"Please, call me Gill", he said and a light smile? appeared on his lips. She clearly couldn't say it. His eyes remained cold but his lips sure did to have moved upwards. Or at least that's what she thought. For a moment she got confused by his appearance. She only saw him a few times at school and was used to the uniform but now he was wearing checked shorts, a lilac shirt with a dark blue slip-on on top.

"May I ask what you are up to?"

"I'm going to get my brother something to eat", she answered and got caught inside his blue eyes. It was like he was nailing her to the ground and she was unable to move. She had heard it once from Luke that he was able to use his eyes to manipulate his surroundings. He could make people obey him with a mere blink of the eye.

"Interesting. Why don't you try the Tomato Risotto at the Ocarina Inn? An exquisite taste perfectly harmonized with the spirit of the summer. I was planning on going there, too. Would you mind accompanying me, Angelo?"

He said her name with a slight smile and she couldn't help but feel uneasy about this invitation.

"Well, I don't know… actually my brother wanted to have some tomato stew…"

"Oh, if he is in favor of it then he will – without a doubt – be pleased by the taste of a good Tomato Risotto. I'm quite an expert when it comes to delicious tomatoes." He gave her an elegant and trustworthy smile.

Still being doubtful Angela finally agreed to accompany him to the Ocarina Inn. Unfortunately, she forgot one small but extremely important fact.

* * *

"Welcome!", Maya bowed down in front of them but as soon as she got up again her face burned up and she stared in shock at Angela. "Oh, A-Angelo…" Her voice turned into a calm and unsure tone. It was obvious that she didn't know what to do in this kind of situation and Angela felt the same way about it. After the confusing events of the Flower Festival, she didn't have any chance to answer to Maya's feelings.

"OH, hey, Maya", Angela laughed awkwardly. "I totally forgot that you're the daughter of the owner…"

Wrong answer. Maya's head dropped down and tears filled her eyes.

_Mental face palm._

"Maya, would you be so kind to guide us to our table?" It was Gill who was interrupting the sad scene and Angela was oh so thankful for him to do that. Maya on the other hand didn't seem to appreciate this suggestion but slowly guided them to a table next to the kitchen.

An elderly woman with pink braids and a bun on her head stood in front of a stove and cooked something that smelled like heaven. She turned around, recognized Gill and waved at him.

"The usual?", she asked and Gill gave her a single but appreciating nod.

"So you're often here, huh?", Angela asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Quite", he mused. "What can Maya get you?"

"Euh… what about that Risotto you were talking about? If it's good I'll get my brother the same."

"Naturally. So one Tomato Risotto, please." He turned Maya who caught herself from staring at Angela. She quickly nodded and ran to the older woman in the kitchen.

"So", Gill started and looked back at her. His eyes narrowed. "You and Maya, huh?"

"Euh…", she just went. How was she supposed to tell him? Why would she actually? It was not like he was Luke or something. She barely knew him and now he was peeping into her private life.

"You don't have to answer", he chuckled. It was a calm and more reserved laugh, perfectly fitting to his attitude. But somehow it was also warm and kind for a reason.

"You two caught a lot of attention lately. Not to mention the fact that you both got to play the main parts in the play."

"If I remember correctly it was the School Council which decided by lot who was going to play which part."

"Who knows, maybe it was deliberately decided this way", he picked the salt cellar up and examined it carefully. "I love order. I can't stand chaos." He opened the cellar and carefully removed a big peppercorn which found its way to the tiny crystals.

_Is he saying that he made Maya and me play these parts?_ Her eyes narrowed and a frown placed itself on her forehead.

"Doubting?", he asked with a smirk on his lips. "Are you accusing the School Council of lying to its students?"

"No", she answered but the frown disappeared.

"Eh? You are truly interesting", he placed his chin on his hands and looked at her. "I've never met someone like you."

"Neither do I", she answered back.

"Quite adroit", he smiled. "Now I can kind of understand why the carpenter has grown such a liking to you."

_What does he want from me?_ She already regretted following him to the inn. Not only because of the fact that she had to face Maya but her counterpart got more and more irritating.

"Tomato Soup for you and a Tomato Risotto for… you…" Maya placed the dished on the table and quickly ran out of the kitchen. Angela felt bad for her.

"Such a shame", Gill sighed. "I've heard that you still didn't answer her feelings. Maybe it is time for you to tell her the truth."

Angela didn't say anything but stared at her Risotto.

"Maybe you should tell her that you are already spoken for. "

She looked up. "Huh?"

He gave her a pretty smile. "Tell her that you are my girlfriend. She'll understand."

"But I'm not your – " Suddenly it hit her. It hit her really bad. He knew it. He totally and absolutely knew about her secret. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. He chuckled and leaned back in his seat.

"Did I surprise you, Angela? Yes, I know about your dirty little secret. What are you going to do now? If you are planning on willing to be my girlfriend I have to disappoint you. I'm not interested in you."

"So", she quickly caught herself. "You expect me to lick your shoes or what?"

"I have no business with a little bug like you. If I want to I can make anybody to obey me. I'm not only the President of the School Council but also the son of the director who's also the mayor of this lovely town. If I want to I can make your brother lose his farm or arrange a suspension for your little carpenter-friend. I could even – "

Bang. She smacked her Risotto right into his face.

"You're an awful person", she hissed and jumped up. "You may be powerful but in the end you're the little bug who hides inside a tiny shell. I've never met such a narrow-minded and snobbish person like you. And the hell I care about what you can do or not or whose son you are." She then stomped out of the Inn.

"Gill, are you okay?" The elderly woman quickly went to him and removed the Risotto from his face. "I've never seen some guy react like that! You must have made him upset!"

"Obviously", he said, took a handkerchief out of his pockets and cleaned his face. "Yolanda, charge it on the bill." He also stood up and left the inn. Not even touching his tomato soup.

He couldn't see her anymore; she was already gone and swallowed by the night.

"You look awful." A familiar voice got to his ear. Gill closed his eyes and smirked.

"That's what you get when you have a little bit of fun. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working right now or at least chase after her?"

Chase leaned forward and his back did not longer touch the pink walls of the Inn.

"I'm not supposed to do that", he sighed annoyed.

"Oh, really? The lonely cook who keeps up a solid shell around himself so that nobody can approach him."

"Say whatever you want. In the end, you're just talking about yourself."

"Of course I am", he laughed. "And she knows it, too."

"What are you planning to do to her?", Chase voice got unintentionally sharp but Gill wasn't shocked for he had already awaited this kind of reaction.

"Do not worry. I won't hurt her. I'm just toying around with her." He gave Chase a pat on his shoulder and went away. "Oh and one more thing." He turned around and smirked at the strawberry-blond cook. "Stop stalking her. This is quite embarrassing."

"Hmph", Chase smiled. "And here you do it again. You love talking about yourself, hm?"

* * *

**I gave Gill this personality on purpose. Considering his status inside of this story it really suits him and who knows? Maybe he would react like this. **

**Meh, maybe its just my imagination. **

**I want to focus on his personality though, it is so much fun ~**

**So expect to see him again. Maybe in the next chapter. Or not. Just be patient~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Once I was still a child, I used to be shy and always clinging to my mother. Like a little duckling I kept following her, never able to step from the sidewalk. Like a shining light leading me through my life, I ran after her trusting in her eternal existence. Not paying any attention to my surrounding, she was everything I recognized in my life. And then, she died and with her the light vanished, leaving me behind in a dark and unknown world.

It was the first time that I started to realize my life around me and it was also the first time for me to feel something like fear. Looking behind, I could see her footsteps marking the way but in front of me there was nothing to be seen. Like wandering around in the snow, I reached a part nobody walked on yet.

After time passing by, I saw people also wandering around in the snow but none of them got even close to me. Always keeping their distance, comforting me without reaching out for me, I started to give up and sat down in the snow my mother lead me to. It was that time, as my heart began to freeze. And I was agreeing with it.

One time this girl showed up.

"Look, Gill! I made you some coffee!", she smiled and placed the cup upon my desk at the Town Hall. "You sure work a lot even on Saturdays! I mean, being the School Council President must be tough and yet you're helping your father coordinating the whole town and the school! You're just so incredible! There is nothing that you can't do!"

And though she crossed my way she never stopped once. Never paused to look at me and vanished in the wide snow fields.

"You're annoying me", I said during that time. "If you've got so much free time, why don't you go somewhere else and be a burden on the people there."

Though she's been mad at me, she came back the next day with the same kind of smile and the same kind of words. Like a broken record, she kept coming back again and again. And I started to ignore the existence of the pink haired girl completely.

But she wasn't the only one. Everybody in town kept reacting the same way. I began to keep a distance between me and the others, desperately trying to protect me from any false hope. If they wouldn't stop to look at me then there was no point in crossing my way. So I started manipulating my environment, making my surroundings following my orders so that they would never dare to look at the real me. And with that even my eyes became as cold as my heart.

Those eyes – the eyes of my mother – haven't always been cold. But the more I try to remember what they looked like, the more I tend to forgot them.

It says that even after a long and hard winter, spring will always come to embrace the snow. But I've waited so many years, endured so many winters and yet, spring never came for me. And while spring was blossoming for everyone around me, this strange girl appeared in my town.

She was no different from any other girls. Except for that everybody referred to her as a boy. I watched her one time but couldn't find anything worth and turned around again. Just a simple girl pretending to be a boy. So I began to play with her like I did with everybody else.

Putting her into awkward situations, seeing her react to them – it was kind of entertaining for me. But at a certain point she did not stick to the rules anymore.

And that was the time I heard the creaky sound of footsteps in the snow behind me. I turned around and saw her standing right behind me. Though I saw her coming in the distance I never realized she'd cross the barrier I was building around myself. And yet she was standing right behind me, her eyes fixed on mine as if it wasn't hard to stand my sight.

"Go away!", the child in me screamed and tried to push her off, not daring to move any further than this. She didn't listen to me but looked at the untouched snow in front of me. "No, go away!"

And just like that she passed me and stepped on the untouched snow. She continued walking and went off in a direction I've never seen anybody around me directing to.

Due to that I saw my barrier around me breaking and the place I called home for these couple of years started to feel worthless.

"Wait!", I screamed at her but she wouldn't stop nor would she slow down. Thus, the only thing for me to do was running after her, hoping to reach her one day.

This girl – simple as she may be – was the only one to look into my eyes and do something that I was too afraid to do. Moving on.

That's why I decided to protect her. Even if it means for her to hate me, I don't mind. Because this is the only thing I can do for her right now.

So I walked into the office of my father and searched for her entry formulary. Determined, I erased her gender and officially enrolled her as a boy so that nobody in the world was able to reveal her secret. Or so I thought at least.

* * *

**I just felt like doing something like this. So to make it clear: Gill isn't the reason why everybody thinks she is a boy. He just corrected it after the incident of the last chapter. So it's still open why something like this happened in the first place.**

**Thanks for reading! **


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